Yo, Chicken...Beer Me!

I have never made a whole chicken before. I have enough trouble with just a simple breast so I was pretty freaking nervous. Plus...yeah, wish someone would have told me that whole chickens came with the neck AND the gibblets still in tact. I felt like the Old Man in A Christmas Story. "It's...smiling at me!" DH had to come and chop off the neck and fish out the ickiness inside for me but what followed was absolutely delicious! I can believe how easily this came together and how juicy and flavorful it was. Best chicken I have ever made...hand's down!

BIG BUD'S BEER CAN CHICKEN
(Recipe Source: Guy Fieri - www.foodnetwork.com)

Ingredients:

• 1 (2 to 3-pound) whole chicken (Mine was a little bigger, like 3.75 lbs.)
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon dried sage
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 (12-ounce) can beer (I used Sam Adams Winter Lager -- which actually involved pouring out a skunky old Bud Light, rinisng the can and then pouring the other beer into the can!)
• 1/2 pound bacon

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Wash chicken with cold water and pat dry with paper towels.
• Mix dry ingredients in small bowl. Rub 1/2 of the ingredients on inside cavity of chicken. Gently peel skin away from chicken and rub mixture into meat of chicken. Open beer can pour out about 1/2 cup. Drop the garlic cloves into the beer can. Place chicken, open end down, over the beer can to insert the beer into the cavity. Place chicken, standing up, in large saute pan. Place 1/3 of the bacon in the top cavity of the chicken and drape the remaining 2/3 of the bacon down the outside of the chicken. Pierce the bacon to the chicken with toothpicks.
• Place chicken in the oven for 10 minutes and then lower temperature to 325 degrees F and cook for another 1 hour, or until the internal temperature in the thickest part of the thigh reaches 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. (Mine was larger, so it took about 100 minutes to finish cooking.)

Eric could not stop raving about this meal. He was literally sucking the meat off the bone! It was sooooo good. I served it with crusty french bread, rice pilaf and ceasar salads. Will for sure be making this again!